(Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)
LOUDON, N.H. — Ryan Preece has a feeling of comfort coming back home to New England. With seven races remaining in the regular season, the Berlin, Connecticut native views Monday’s Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as one of his biggest opportunities of the season.
Preece cut his teeth short track racing in the area, running NASCAR Whelen Modified tour races at New Hampshire and winning track championships at Stafford Motor Speedway. Racing at places similar to NHMS in a modified is all he’s ever known.
“New Hampshire is a place I’ve had a lot of laps on – a lot more than most tracks we go to. I feel really comfortable here,” Preece said on Saturday at New Hampshire. “It’s that energy you have, that swagger when you walk into a racetrack where you feel comfortable. New Hampshire was definitely a track, going into it, that I know what I need as a race car driver to find victory lane or run really well. Same thing at [Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]. I remember when we unloaded and practiced. I was like, ‘Yeah, this is the feel we need.’ We didn’t qualify the best that day, but we drove from 16th to the lead. If we have that same sort of feel I’m looking for here, we can get the job done.”
Preece’s first season with Stewart-Haas Racing hasn’t exactly gone to plan. He’s without a top 10 in 19 races and is 25th in points with an average finish of 21.7.
The fourth-year Cup Series driver, however, had an opportunity at Martinsville Speedway in the spring that slipped through the cracks. He won the pole and led 135 laps before he sped on pit road and threw his track position away.
While Preece rebounded to finish 15th, he viewed that race as a chance to dominate and win his way into the playoffs.
(Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)
“Every time I look at that pole flag I think about it,” Preece said. “At the end of the day, we led a lot of laps, checked a box. That was a good moment, but obviously, a little dark – not exactly the way we wanted to end it. But, going into it, I remember walking pit road and asking questions. I felt like I did everything I needed to do. Unfortunately, we sped. Apparently, I can launch out of the pit box too well.
“The middle month of May on, I felt like we’ve consistently made gains. We’ve been consistent. Last week at Atlanta, I thought we were going to have a really good run. We had a fast race car. We had a really good handling race car. So, statistically, if you look at an end number, it can be frustrating sometimes for Chad [Johnston] and myself. But to me, we know the gains we’re making and they’ll be showing in the second half of the season.”
Preece sits 81 points below the cutline, a deficit statistically attainable with consistency down the stretch. However, a win will do the trick easier. He believes the upcoming stretch, which includes a short track in two weeks at Richmond Raceway, is favorable for his No. 41 team.
The 32-year-old said that his kryptonite this season has been mile-and-a-halves. In three races at those types of tracks, Preece has an average finish of 21st highlighted by a 13th-place at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“When I look at these next seven races, these tracks fit under my wheelhouse,” he said. “But when we got to the month of… end of May, June, July and August, those are my strengths. New Hampshire is my strength. Next week at Pocono is a track where I enjoy racing. Richmond: That’s another one I enjoy. Watkins Glen. Daytona – I love superspeedway racing, and unfortunately, we’ve got wrecked there in the final few laps, but we’ve been in contention, we’ve been aggressive and we’ve led laps
“These next final races to get into the playoffs is certainly something I’m comfortable with, and every week is a new week.”
Monday’s rescheduled Crayon 301 is set for 12 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Christopher Bell is on the pole.
